A HEALTH watchdog has told Oxford hospital chiefs to review the way risks are identified by staff and flagged to bosses.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission praised the “experienced leadership” at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, but said that information was “rarely [used] for improvement”.

The inspection – ordered in November last year – followed concerns around Maternity Services at the John Radcliffe Hospital and the inpatients’ ward at the Oxford Centre for Enablement.

Following the inspection, the CQC said that the trust must:

  • Review the process by which risks in the maternity wards and urgent and emergency wards are identified. Risks must be identified and escalated to bosses in a “timely” way.
  • Governance arrangements at divisional and directorate level should be “clear” – and their effectiveness monitored.
  • Ensure staff have “timely” access to information to help them monitor their performance and identify improvements.

Inspectors also said that staff did not feel they had been treated equally. Survey results showed that black and minority ethnic staff at the hospital trust had a “lack of trust” when it came to promotion and career development.

However, the CQC said that the trust’s was managed by an “experienced leadership team with the skills, abilities and commitment to provide high-quality services”.

Mary Cridge of the CQC said: “The leadership were aware of many of the areas raised with them as a result of our inspection and had already put measures in place to combat issues highlighted. However, many of the plans were new in formation making it too early to judge their impact.”

Clare Winch, deputy director of assurance at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We’ve taken the report’s findings on board, and are already working on joining up risk registers at all levels in the Trust to make sure that issues are raised promptly and appropriately.”